Camp David Back Again

Each summer we host our grandchildren in our "Corner of the Ozarks".  This August we had our ninth "Camp David".  For the first time we had all six grandchildren. 

As they get older they are busier and it becomes more difficult to get them all together at the same time.  We started with "half a crew". 


The week started with a visit to the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois. 

I know Springfield, Illinois, is not within "My Corner of the Ozarks", but all Americans should know about the life and legacy of Mr. Lincoln. 

We had a good time learning about Abe.


Do you recognize Abe and Mary?



Next the Maryland girls flew in to join us and we headed for the Ozarks. 

We spent two days at Branson taking in Silver Dollar City and the Butterfly Palace.  Aunt Janet and Uncle Dwight hosted us there.  We were joined by Cousins Adelyn and Marian. 

The remainder of the week was spent in Mountain View area. 

The pool was fun, but nothing beats the Jack's Fork.

They are growing up too fast. 




















It was a privilege and a blessing to have our beautiful, fun, grandchildren for a great (too fast) week. 

Traditional Ozarker Activity

It's that time of the year to pick wild blackberries.  Maybe some will be in a cobbler soon.  Some will be frozen and appear in a cobbler in the winter.

The berry patch is shared with many Ozark critters, namely ticks, chiggers, snakes, and worst of all, poison ivy.  Wise hillbillies avoid these.

I forgot to mention "thorns".  You have to reach through the briers to get the ripe berries.  If a ripe berry falls to the ground, it is always the biggest one. 

One question really bothers me:  why are the best berries always guarded by sturdy clumps of poison ivy?

Ozarkers Come Home

On June 21-22 the David family gathered back in the Ozarks. 

We've been doing this every other year for some time.  It seems that the "first" big family reunion was the Golden Anniversary of Ed and Nina David in 1961.  After their passing the next generation started hosting reunions in Mountain View.

Our tradition has been to photograph each "clan".  Only four of nine "clans" were represented this year. 

Lloyd's clan:

Wayne's clan: 

Evelyn's clan: 

Gene's clan: 

We were missing representatives of the clans of Robert, Imogene, Erma, Mildred, and Eileen. 

These are from the third generation after Ed and Nina David. 

Tournament Golf Just Beyond My Corner

For the sixth year the Legends of Golf professional golf tournament was played at Ridgedale, MO, just south of Branson.  The tournament is now known as the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge.  (Owner Johnny Morris is good at marketing.)

The Legends of Golf event began in 1978 and sparked the creation of the PGA Tour Champions.  Before coming to the Ozarks, it was played in Florida. 

The first year the tournament was held at two Ozark courses, Top of the Rock and Buffalo Ridge in 2014.  I attended one day, got soaked in a pouring rain and left early.  The last three years I have been a volunteer marshal.  It has been fun to see PGA Champions Tour golfers up close. 

This year for the first time a new course Ozark National was used for part of the tournament.  Ozark National was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.  It is a beautiful and tough layout. 

It seems like every year the rains interfere with some part of the tournament. 

It takes about 200 marshals for the five days of the tournament, two days of pro-am and three days of pro competition.  There were only 28 new marshals this year; everyone else was a returnee. 

The Legends tournament is a two-man team event.  This year's winners were Tom Pernice and Scott Hoch. 

They always play part of the Legends event at Top of the Rock, a beautiful nine-hole par 3 which was re-designed by Jack Nicklaus.  Nicklaus usually plays in the Legends division, but he was ill this year.  Notables in attendance this year include Tom Watson, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, John Daly, Mark O'Meara, and Colin Montgomerie. 

The charitable beneficiaries of the event are the College of the Ozarks and the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. 

I enjoy volunteering at the tournament, but I wish the weather was better and it was not during spring turkey season. 

Our Spring

Why do I always desire to blog about springtime?  It must be that feeling of renewal, activity, growth, and optimism.

I started mowing the lawn in March while my son in Chicago still had snow.

It was wonderful when the redbuds bloomed.

I was fortunate to call in and harvest a 22-lb. gobbler the second morning of the spring turkey season.  That makes Number 22 for me.  My dad shot 68 turkeys in his hunting lifetime.  I have a ways to go.

It is always a thrill to see the woods come alive with flowering dogwoods.  We have a dogwood in our back yard to enjoy.

Springtime in My Corner of the Ozarks often brings stormy weather.  Yesterday, April 30, found the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks hit with heavy rain, strong winds, tornadoes, flooding, and wind damage.

No storm damage at our house, but we got 3.5 inches of rain overnight and a lake in the back yard.

So springtime can be wonderful or terrible.  Pray for those folks in scattered places in the Ozarks (Lebanon, Miller, Purdy, Ozark Rogersville, Wheaton in MO, and Bergman and Lead Hill in AR) who lost everything last night.